1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hob having a helical tooth profile.
2. Description of Related Art
A hob of this kind is disclosed in EP 0 050 270 A2. Hobs of this kind having helical tooth profiles are usually used for producing tooth profiles on gearwheels, for example on spur gears for transmissions. In order to form the helical tooth profile of the hob, cutting bodies are usually arranged in a distributed manner along a helix. These cutting bodies are often formed as cutting inserts, in particular indexable cutting inserts, which are secured in an exchangeable manner to a cross-sectionally roof-shaped carrier.
DE-A 27 00 525 discloses a multipart hob, in which the tooth profile is formed by a plurality of encircling disks which are arranged in a row and each carry a disk-like gear rim. The individual disks are formed as annular disks which are arranged on a basic body in a row in the longitudinal direction.
In operation, not only the cutting bodies but also the insert seats for the cutting inserts can become worn, and so the cutting insert support, into which the insert seats are incorporated, also has to be replaced from time to time.
In order to avoid disassembling the hob known from DE-A 27 00 525 into its individual components, it is provided according to EP 0 050 270 A2 for the tooth profile of the hob to be formed by tooth segments that adjoin one another in the circumferential direction, with the individual tooth segments being secured in a thread-shaped guide of the basic body.
In this configuration, it is therefore necessary to produce the basic body with an attached helical guide in a comparatively complicated manner.